Transcript indian removal act - 7thGrade2013Projects

INDIAN REMOVAL
ACT
Based on the current living
conditions of the Americans
and natives was the Indian
Removal Act justified?
INDIAN REMOVAL ACT
In 1830 Congress, urged on by President
Andrew Jackson, passed the Indian Removal
Act which gave the federal government the
power to relocate any Native Americans in
the east to territory that was west of the
Mississippi River. Though the Native
Americans were to be compensated, this was
not always done fairly and in some cases led
to the further destruction of many of the
already diminishing numbers of many of the
eastern tribes.
OFFICAL
INDIAN
REMOVAL ACT
DOCUMENT
ANDREW JACKSON’S VIEW
“Does Humanity weep at these painful separations from everything, animate and
inanimate, with which the young heart has become entwined? Far from it. It is rather a
source of joy that our country affords scope where our young population may range
unconstrained in body or in mind, developing the power and facilities of man in their
highest perfection. These remove hundreds and almost thousands of miles at their
own expense, purchase the lands they occupy, and support themselves at their new
homes from the moment of their arrival. Can it be cruel in this Government when, by
events which it cannot control, the Indian is made discontented in his ancient home to
purchase his lands, to give him a new and extensive territory, to pay the expense of his
removal, and support him a year in his new abode? How many thousands of our own
people would gladly embrace the opportunity of removing to the West on such
conditions! If the offers made to the Indians were extended to them, they would be
hailed with gratitude and joy. And is it supposed that the wandering savage has a
stronger attachment to his home than the settled, civilized Christian? Is it more
afflicting to him to leave the graves of his fathers than it is to our brothers and
children? Rightly considered, the policy of the General Government toward the red
man is not only liberal, but generous. He is unwilling to submit to the laws of the
States and mingle with their population. To save him from this alternative, or perhaps
utter annihilation, the General Government kindly offers him a new home, and
proposes to pay the whole expense of his removal and settlement."
TRAIL OF TEARS
•
At the beginning of the 1830s, nearly 125,000 Native Americans lived on
millions of acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina
and Florida. The land their ancestors had occupied and cultivated for
generations. By the end of the decade, very few natives remained
anywhere in the southeastern United States. Working on behalf of white
settlers who wanted to grow cotton on the Indians’ land, the federal
government forced them to leave their homelands and walk thousands of
miles to a specially designated “Indian territory” across the Mississippi
River. This difficult and sometimes deadly journey is known as the Trail of
Tears.
•
The Cherokee Nation was allocated land in Georgia as a result of the 1791
treaty with the U.S. Government. In 1828, not only did whites for
settlement purposes desire their land, but gold was discovered. Georgia
tried to reclaim this land in 1830, but the Cherokee protested and took the
case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court decided in favor of the
Cherokee, however, the President and Congress forced the Native
Americans to give up their land. 1838 called in federal troops in to
“escort” approximately 15,000 Cherokee people to their new home in
Indian Territory. On the way, approx. 1/3 of the Cherokee people died.
This event, known to the Cherokee as “The Trail Where They Cried”, is
better known as the Trail of Tears
Map of Trail
of Tears
LIVING CONDITIONS
WHITE AMERICANS
NATIVE AMERICANS
• Average family incomes
of the non-poor are about
six times as large as the
poor
• Seventy-one percent of
the expenditures of the
families of poor
individuals is for food,
shelter, utilities, and
apparel, compared to 46
percent for families of the
non-poor. For those in
poor, single-parent
families, the share spent
on these necessities is 80
percent
• Many American Indians
are living in
substandard housing.
About 40% of onreservation housing is
considered inadequate.
• The overall percentage
of American Indians
living below the Federal
poverty line is 28.2%
.
SOURCES
PRIMARY SOURCES
• Citation: President
Jackson's Message to
Congress "On Indian
Removal", December 6,
1830; Records of the
United States Senate,
1789‐1990; Record
Group 46; Records of the
United States Senate,
1789‐1990; National
Archives and Records
Administration (NARA]
• http://memory.loc.gov/cgi
bin/ampage?collld=llhj&f
ileName=024/llhj024.db&
recNum=24
• http://eldiablo.weebly.co
m/the-offical-removalact.html
SECONDARY SOURCES
• http://www.history.com/t
opics/trail-of-tears
• The Indian Removal Act
and the Trail of Tears:
Cause, Effect and
Justification by Angela
Darrenkamp
http://historymatters.gm
u.edu/d/7402
• http://www.nrcprograms.
org/site/PageServer?pag
ename=airc
livingconditions
• http://www.irle.berkley.e
du/publications/livingfam
.html